New Evidence Your Daily Multivitamin Doesn’t Help Heart Health or Help You Live Longer

The Great Vitamin Debate

New Evidence Your Daily Multivitamin Doesn’t Help Heart Health or Help You Live Longer

But results of the recent meta-analysis don’t necessarily mean you should ditch the pills.

By Rosemary Black

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The new research analyzed existing data on the long-term effects of multivitamins, as well as single-nutrient supplements.

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June 5, 2019

A new study is making headlines because it suggests that multivitamins maynotbe as helpful to your long-term health as they are touted to be.

The recent meta-analysis found that there is little evidence that supplements — including multivitamins, as well as single-nutrient calcium, vitamin C, and vitamin D supplements — help reduce risk of heart disease or help people live longer. The meta-analysis, which summarized the findings of 179 individual studies, was published in the June 2019 issue of theJournal of the American College of Cardiology.

Do the new findings mean that people shouldn’t take supplements or daily multivitamins? Even the study’s authors say no, people don’t necessarily need to quit their multivitamins or supplements. More research is needed to better understand the long-term health benefits and risks of supplements, but the new data did reveal some interesting findings, according to the researchers.

“This doesn't mean that people taking multivitamins should necessarily stop,” says Edward L. Giovannucci, MD, a study coauthor and a professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the department of epidemiology in the School of Public Health at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “But users should know that at least for cardiovascular disease, there is no evidence of benefit — at least from randomized controlled trials.”

The Research Analyzed How Vitamins Affected Heart Disease Risk and Risk of Death From Other Causes

For the study, researchers conducted a meta-analysis and systematic review of existing meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and single randomized controlled trials from 2012 to 2019 that evaluated the effects of dietary supplements on risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, cardiovascular death, cancer death, mortality, or all-cause mortality.

The researchers analyzed study data that had assessed the use of multivitamins (supplements that include most vitamins and minerals) and single-nutrient supplements (including vitamins A, C, D, and E, as well as beta-carotene, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, selenium, and several strains of vitamin B).

The analysis showed that of the four most commonly used supplements (multivitamins, vitamin D, calcium, and vitamin C), none had a significant effect on cardiovascular outcomes. The study also found that the nutrients with a significant effect were folic acid and B complex vitamins, which reduced stroke risk, and niacin and antioxidants, which increased all-cause mortality.

This evidence suggests there is not strong data supporting the idea that multivitamins or other single-nutrient supplements necessarily do much to help reduce heart disease risk (with the potential exception of folic acid and B vitamins) or help you live longer, Dr. Giovannucci says. Though this data doesn’t necessarily mean people need to stop taking multivitamins either.

“Although there are not clear-cut benefits, use of a multivitamin is reasonable,” Giovannucci says. And people should know that multivitamin use is not a substitute for the many known health effects of a healthy diet, he adds.

The New Findings Are Not Completely Conclusive

Others agree this research isn’t definitive enough to inform people whether or not they should change their habits around multivitamins and supplements.

The findings of the meta-analysis are not totally conclusive, says Amy Hess-Fischl, RDN, CDE, a nurse educator at the Kovler Diabetes Center at University of Chicago Medicine. “Some of the studies they reviewed had some problems, such as not enough subjects or inconclusive findings.”

Also, the authors of the research focused on the effects of supplements in reducing cardiovascular risk and cancer mortality, she says. They didn’t look at other potential health benefits or outcomes. When it comes to vitamins and supplements, she says, “are they completely useless? I don’t think so. Are they for everyone? No.”

Additionally, a new finding from the research is that folic acid, taken with or without vitamin B, may help reduce the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease, Hess-Fischl notes.

And because folic acid and B vitamins are water soluble, that means that you excrete the amounts of the nutrients that your body doesn’t need (meaning it’s tough to get too much), she adds. “But it’s best to discuss with a healthcare professional if it’s right for you.”

Some Vitamins and Supplements Do Come With Risks

While folic acid could be beneficial, the data suggests taking beta-carotene, vitamin E, or vitamin A supplements could potentially cause health problems. “Fat-soluble vitamins consumed in excess of recommended amounts can cause toxicity,” says Nancy Copperman, RD, director of public health initiatives in the Office of Community Health at Northwell Health in Manhasset, New York. “Any mega-vitamin supplementation should be discussed with your healthcare provider.”

But Copperman says the bottom line is that more evidence is needed to better understand the long-term health benefits and risks of taking multivitamins and other supplements. “The report does not conclude that all [multivitamins] and vitamin supplements are useless, but we need more investigation on long-term health impacts.”

The Ideal Way to Get Your Vitamins and Nutrients Is a Healthy Diet

“The best source of vitamins still is from eating fresh produce and whole foods,” Copperman says. “But for people who do not include fruits and vegetables in their diet, a general multivitamin providing 100 percent of the recommended dietary intake could improve their diet’s nutrient quality.”

Hess-Fischl agrees. “If you aren’t following the dietary guidelines, it doesn’t hurt to take a multiple vitamin,” she says. “Just keep in mind that attaining health or remaining healthy involves work and a shift in your habits.

Video: Do Vitamins Really Improve Health?

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